Indisputably one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century, Ed Ruscha has built a formidable body of work by staking a claim on the deceptively simple intersection of text and image, superimposing elliptical phrases (or, often, single words) over West Coast landscapes to create prints and paintings that can be read instantaneously yet evade easy understanding.
Alongside artists like Robert Irwin and Billy Al Bengston, Ruscha was a pioneer of the 1960s Los Angeles art scene as part of the famed Ferus Gallery. His embrace of Hollywood vernacular and the open Western road have tied him as closely to the identity of L.A. art as Jackson Pollock is to that of New York.
Coming to California in 1956 at the age of 18, Ruscha intended to become a commercial painter but found himself drawn to fine art, over time being shaped by three galvanizing influences: Marcel Duchamp, Pop art and the movies.
Meeting Duchamp when the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon Museum) hosted the French Conceptual artist's first U.S. show, Ruscha was especially affected by his use of "readymade" objects and imagery, rendered unfamiliar through unexpected titles or text. Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup can paintings, meanwhile, were shown for the first time at the Ferus Gallery in 1962, opening up new vistas for Ruscha. Movies, then, provided another inspiration through their use of title cards, placing graphic text over filmic shots — The End, for instance — for maximum impact.
Ruscha began his famous series of word paintings in the 1960s, depicting various views of the Hollywood sign and the logos of studios like 20th Century Fox, but also roadside views like the Standard Oil stations dotting L.A.'s freeways. Over time these became more abstracted, pinning ambiguous, free-floating phrases (Wall Rockets is a famous example) to natural vistas, scenes of highways, or monochrome backgrounds. Beginning in about 1980, the artist began using a sharp font he designed himself, called Boy Scout Utility Modern.
A master printmaker who also works across the mediums of books, drawing, photography and even film — in 2009 he starred in a movie directed by the artist Doug Aitken — Ruscha has been an influence on a staggering array of artists, including Stephen Shore, Christopher Wool and Anselm Kiefer.
Ruscha's work has been featured in dozens of exhibitions around the world, including "Ed Ruscha: 50 Years of Painting" at London's Hayward Gallery (2009), "Ed Ruscha: Made in Los Angeles" at Madrid's Reina Sofia in 2002, a 2000 retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a survey of his works-on-paper at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1998, and a 1982 retrospective that traveled to the Whitney Museum. In 2005 he represented the United States at the 51st Venice Biennale, and in 2009 he received a National Arts Award.
Find a collection of original Ed Ruscha lithographs and other art for sale on 1stDibs.
$1,046Sale Price|30% Off
Ed Ruscha Large Framed Vintage LACMA Exhibition Lithograph Poster Standard, 1990
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, quite large and engaging vintage lithograph/exhibition poster by California American Pop Art artist Ed (Edward) Ruscha. This piece/image is a variation of his iconic 19...
Paper
Large Framed Lithograph by Tony Friedlaender
By Frederic Weinberg
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large framed lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.
Glass, Wood, Paper
Large Framed Lithograph by Tony Friedlaender
By Frederic Weinberg
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large Framed Lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.
Glass, Wood, Paper
Robert Rauschenberg, Tate Gallery, 1981 (Exhibition Poster)
By Robert Rauschenberg
Located in New York, NY
Lithograph poster by Robert Rauschenberg for The Tate Gallery Publications Dept., printed in 1981 in Great Britain by the Hilingdon Press Uxbridge, Middlesex. Archivally-hinged, with...
Plexiglass, Paper
Large Framed Lithograph by Tony Friedlaender
By Frederic Weinberg
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large framed lithograph by Tony Friedlaender. Signed and numbered 44/95. Nicely framed over canvas.
Glass, Wood, Paper
Victor Moscoso, Signed Vintage Exhibition Poster ‘Trippy World’
By Victor Moscoso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Signed vintage Victor Moscoso exhibition poster Published in conjunction with 'Trippy World' - a 1999 exhibition held at Baron/Boisante gallery, New York. Off-set lithograph Measures: 16 x 20 inches Hand signed in pencil (lower right). Very good to excellent overall condition Signed First printing; 1999; acquired directly from Baron/Boisante. Victor Moscoso was among the most gifted and influential artists to emerge from the '60s counterculture, pioneering not only the psychedelic concert poster designs made famous during San Francisco's Summer of Love, but also making his mark in underground comix. Born in Spain and raised in Brooklyn, Moscoso attended Cooper Union Art School before studying at the Yale School of Art; he arrived on the west coast in 1959 to enroll at the San Francisco Art Institute, and after graduation remained at the school for another five years to teach lithography. Alongside Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson, Stanley Mouse, and Alton Kelley...
Paper
Large Patrick Nagel Vintage 1980s Female Portrait Poster in New Frame
By Patrick Nagel
Located in Chattanooga, TN
Effortlessly bridging pop-art allure and refined modernism, this pair of 1980s Patrick Nagel portrait posters makes a bold visual statement. Each print features Nagel’s signature aes...
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
$1,760Sale Price|20% Off
H 41.75 in W 32.25 in D 1 in
Framed Vintage Chanel Poster After Andy Warhol, circa 1997
By (after) Andy Warhol
Located in Wichita, KS
This beautiful iconic vintage pop art Chanel poster is presented with a modern white frame and has a blue background and black. This poster is mounted on linen and is depicting the l...
Linen, Wood, Paper
Large Original Vintage Astronomy Poster, circa 1920
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Great poster of the heavens. Original color. Good condition. Published by Alexander Gross Unframed.
Paper
$297Sale Price|40% Off
H 36 in W 24 in D 1 in
1984 “A Day in the Country” Impressionism LACMA Exhibition Poster w Claude Monet
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Original framed 1984 “A Day in the Country” French Impressionism LACMA Exhibition Poster featuring Claude Monet along the front. This poster by Los Angeles County Museum of Art, refl...
Steel
David Hockney Exhibition Print, framed
Located in Toronto, CA
Framed exhibition print of artist David Hockney's show at Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York City, 1969.
Paper
Vintage Framed Swedish Lithograph by Bengt Lindstrom
Located in Atlanta, GA
Description: Bengt Karl Erik Lindström (September 3, 1925, Berg Municipality — January 29, 2008) was a Swedish artist. Lindström was one of Sweden's bes...
Paper
$210Sale Price|40% Off
H 23 in W 36 in D 1 in
1979 Carnegie Institute "Nympheas" Lithograph Poster By Claude Monet Framed
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Claude Monet 1979 Lithograph Poster "Nympheas" Left Panel Measuring 23”x36” in original black and gold wood frame from the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art. Unsigned Dimensions: Hei...
Metal
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H 33 in W 25 in D 3 in
Authentic Ed Ruscha ‘Excuse Me I Didn’t Mean To Interrupt” c. 1975, Lithograph
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Round Rock, TX
Ed Ruscha Excuse Me I Didn't Mean to Interrupt c. 1975 Color lithograph on Arjomari Arches paper; torn and deckle edges, bleed image Lithograph ~ 30”h x 22”w Framed in entiret...
Wood, Paper
Ed Ruscha Lithograph "America Whistles", Signed
By Ed Ruscha
Located in New York, NY
Ed Ruscha, lithograph, signed 137/200. Dated 1975. "America whistles", on woven paper, signed and dated in pencil Created as part of a bicentenni...
Paper
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H 12 in W 16 in D 1 in
Contemporary Unframed Angel Print Signed By Artist Ed Ruscha 33/68 Dated 1991
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is an unframed print, signed by artist Ed Ruscha numbered 33/68 and dated 1991. In excellent condition. The dimensions of the matte are 22.5" W x 18.5" H and t...
1980, Ed Ruscha, Color Lithograph
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"Pick, Pan, Shovel", a signed, dated and numbered (32/100) color lithograph published by the Graphic Arts Council of the LA County Museum of Art and Cirrus Editions.
"Heaven and Hell" Diptych by Ed Ruscha
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Signed pair of signed aquatint prints by American artist, Ed Ruscha
Ed Ruscha Lithograph
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Signed and numbered, limited edition 2006 lithograph by Ed Ruscha.
Lithograph, Paper
Ed Ruscha Every Building on the Sunset Strip
By Ed Ruscha
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Ed Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip framed. Iconic 1966 book photographed by Ed Ruscha shows every building from Laurel to Doheny on both North and South sides of Sunset B...
Glass